Writer: Jason Katims
Director: Jeffrey Reiner
Grade: A-
I didn’t get a chance to re-watch Season 2 (working on it!), so I’m pretty lost so far this season. I don’t remember Smash hurting his knee, I have no idea who J.D. McCoy is (or why I should or should not care about him), I don’t know why Jason isn’t around, but Lyla and Tim (who magically got another year of eligibility, it seems?) are, or why Tami is the new DHS Principal. I’m also not sure what’s going on with Lyla and Tim because I don’t remember where we left off with them last year.
I thought Tyra was a senior last year, for whatever reason, so I’m a bit surprised to see her back. Pleasantly surprised, at least, though I can’t say the same for her new hairdo, which needs to go away quickly. I’m glad that she and Landry are still friends even though they broke up. I really love their dynamic.
I noticed that Gaius Charles isn’t in the opening credits anymore, and given the way people were talking about Smash in the episode, I was afraid he was gone for good, so I was happy to see him. I get the feeling he won’t be around for the entire season, but the character deserves a proper send-off.
Who is J.D. McCoy and why should I care? I found it interesting that we knew more about his father than we did about him when he went in at the end of the game. It was hard to wish him ill because I didn’t know anything about him, but I wasn’t exactly rooting for him, either, given how much I like Matt (Mary Sue-ish though he may be at times). What little we’ve seen of J.D. so far implies that he’s a nice enough kid, but with such an overbearing father, it also seems plausible that he could have a sense of entitlement the size of Antarctica. I’m also unsure as to whether he’s a legitimate character in his own right, or just a foil for Matt (and his father a foil for Coach).
Coach Taylor’s attitude with Smash and his loyalty to Matt Saracen as QB are redeeming him somewhat right now. I’ve never particularly liked his character because so often he stands back and watches the kids around him self-destruct. Getting him to actually reach out and help someone is like pulling teeth, and I hate that aspect of his personality. At the same time, I appreciate it from a writing perspective. It keeps his character realistic and thus more compelling, even if I want to smack him (often). It’s refreshing to see him taking a hands-on approach with Smash right now. I have a feeling his loyalty to Matt is going to wane in the coming episodes, though.
As for Tim, the writers don’t seem to know what to do with him, because he seems to get the same arc every season. He starts out as a fucked up drunk, and then he slowly redeems himself. Again. And again. And again. And Lyla always has something to do with it. As much as I like Tim, I’m getting bored with seeing the same thing over and over. The other characters have all changed and grown a bit, but Tim still seems essentially the same. It really seems like a problem with the writing, rather than with Kitsch’s performance.
Bravo to Tami for taking Buddy’s money and running with it! His reaction when she began explaining it all to him was priceless. I have to admit, sometimes Buddy Garrity my favorite character. Brad Leland is absolutely amazing—Buddy is such an oily creep in so many ways, and yet he’s oddly likable, even when he’s in the midst of doing something horrible. I have no idea how Leland pulls it off, but I love it.
Best line of the episode was Billy telling Tim, “You’re a rebound. From Jesus.”
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